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Death on the Beach is available for pre-order now! – Steph Broadribb

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I’m super excited to share the cover of the third Retired Detectives Club book – Death on the Beach. It’s out in July 2023 and available for pre-order on Amazon here.

Here’s the blurb:

Did she jump—or was she pushed? The Retired Detectives have a theory. Now they just need the evidence…

The brand-new Shimmering Sands retirement community is a beachfront paradise—until realtor Jessie Beckton plunges to her death from the penthouse suite she’s selling. When the cops rule out foul play, the Retired Detectives agree to step in. They’re certain Jessie was murdered—but how can they prove it when the apartment was locked from the inside?

As the gang pursue their investigation, a host of potential suspects emerge who all have secrets to hide. But just as they seem to be closing in on a culprit, a shocking second murder sends them back to square one.

Meanwhile, former CSI Lizzie’s marriage to ex-DCI Philip suffers a fateful blow. And their partners in crime-solving, Rick and Moira, find their new romance tested when a mystery woman from Rick’s past appears—with a child in tow.

The team must put aside their differences and join forces with a former adversary if they’re to solve the case. But in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse, can they lure the killer into the open before one of them pays the ultimate price?

Unisex Unknown natural Science Watch

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Unisex Unknown natural Science Watch

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Mens Zip Up Thermal Insulated Fleece Lined Knitted Cardigan Jumper Cardigan

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Mens Zip Up Thermal Insulated Fleece Lined Knitted Cardigan Jumper Cardigan

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#BookReview The Gathering By C. J. Tudor – Book Inspector

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Thank You very much to the publisher – Michael Joseph for the review copy.
ISBN13: 978-0241486269
Genre: Horror Thriller
Release date: 11 04 2024
Price*: Kindle £0
.99 (GBP)/  Paperback £6.00 (GBP)
Kindle $1
3.99 (USD)/ Paperback $12.37 (USD)
Pages: ~ 416
My rating: I liked it
You can get this book here:
Amazon UK
Bookshop.org
What I learned from this book: About life in remote place.

Description of the book: WELCOME TO DEADHART. ALASKA. POPULATION 673. LIVING.
In a small Alaskan town, a boy is found with his throat ripped out and the blood drained from his body. The brutality of the murder of chillingly echoes a killing from twenty-five years ago. Out-of-state detective Barbara Atkins is brought in to assist the sheriff, Jensen Tucker, who investigated the original case.

However, the inhabitants of Deadhart believe they know who is responsible: one of the nearby vampyr colony who live in an old mining settlement deep in the mountains. Barbara is under pressure to authorize a cull of the entire colony. But the evidence doesn’t stack up, people are lying, and the more Barbara and Tucker delve into Deadhart’s history, the darker the secrets they uncover. As the snow thickens and the nights grow longer, another teenager goes missing and body parts are found. Time is running out for Barbara and Tucker to find the truth.

How this book made me feel: I am a big C. J. Tudor fan and I really love her novels, but this one I think was the weakest so far. 😦

The protagonist in this novel is Barbara, a middle aged detective who was called to a tiny town to investigate murder. I found Barbara very realistic and relatable but she lacked intrigue and charisma and was very ordinary. I liked other characters in this novel more, they intrigued me. Because the town has a very tightly knit community, Barbara had plenty of difficulties while trying to solve the case, I liked her perseverance and dedication. 

I enjoyed the plot, Barbara was the main character telling the story, but there were more perspectives added and I think they made the book more engrossing. The book is set in fantastical world where vampires live alongside humans freely and I enjoyed the setting and atmosphere of this novel. The whole case moved very slowly but I liked the discoveries along the way. The topics discussed in this book were friendships, small town thinking and connections, religious influence, life with unwelcome minorities and many more. The author is well known for her horror stories, but this one was more thriller than horror, and I did miss the creepiness that C.J. Tudor creates so well.

As I mentioned before, the setting and atmosphere were very well developed, I felt the chilliness and darkness that Barbara had to endure. The chapters are medium length, and the ending for me fell a little flat. 

So, to conclude, for me it was not the best book by C.J. Tudor but I enjoyed the setting and the characters in this book. The plot needed more intrigue and pace and a dash more of creepiness. If you are looking for a book about vampires and small towns, this one is definitely for you. Do give it a go and I hope you will like it more than me.

Thank you for your time! ❤

About the author: C. J. Tudor’s love of writing, especially the dark and macabre, started young. When her peers were reading Judy Blume, she was devouring Stephen King and James Herbert. Over the years she has had a variety of jobs, including trainee reporter, radio scriptwriter, dog walker, voiceover, television presenter and copywriter.

She is now the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Chalk Man, The Taking of Annie Thorne, The Other People, The Burning Girls and The Drift. All of her books are in development or optioned for TV, and The Burning Girls debuted on Paramount Plus in 2023. She is also the author of a short story collection, A Sliver of Darkness.

Facebook:@CJTudorOfficial / Twitter: @cjtudor / Instagram: @cjtudorauthor

*-The price was taken from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com on the current date. The price might change at the time of your purchase. The links used in this post for book purchases are affiliates.

WEIRD BUT TRUE! 2025 | BOOKS etc. Blog

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This all-new 2025 children’s annual is loaded with jaw-dropping, eye-popping, believe it or not facts and bright, bold photography!

•Combining the planet’s weirdest facts with the coolest and strangest true stories

•From from peculiar plants and curious caterpillars to accidental inventions, marvellous metals and strange superstitions.

•Explores animals, geography, science, the environment, human achievement and lots more

•The perfect book for fans of Guinness World Records and Ripley’s Believe It or Not!

Whether it’s weird wildlife, strange sculptures, bizarre sports or out of this world discoveries, this 2025 children’s annual is sure to entertain!

For a chance to win a copy simply do one of the following

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Like and comment

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Follow and like

The promoter is: BOOKS etc. Ltd whose registered office is at Gresham Industrial Estate, Eastern rd, Aldershot, GU12 4YD.

• The competition is open to residents of the United Kingdom aged 18 years or over except employees of BOOKS etc. Ltd and their close relatives and anyone otherwise connected with the organisation or judging of the competition.

• There is no entry fee and no purchase necessary to enter this competition.

• Route to entry for the competition and details of how to enter are via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

• Only one entry will be accepted per person. Multiple entries from the same person will be disqualified.

• Closing date for entry will be midnight GMT on 20/10/24. After this date, no further entries to the competition will be permitted.

The rules of the competition and how to enter are as follows:

RT/follow the giveaway on our twitter page

OR
comment on the post on our Facebook post

OR
share, comment and like via Instagram

• The promoter reserves the right to cancel or amend the competition and these terms and conditions without notice in the event of a catastrophe, war, civil or military disturbance, act of God or any actual or anticipated breach of any applicable law or regulation or any other event outside of the promoter’s control. Any changes to the competition will be notified to entrants as soon as possible by the promoter.

• The promoter is not responsible for inaccurate prize details supplied to any entrant by any third party connected with this competition.

• The prize is clearly stated on the social media post and is as stated, there is no cash or other alternatives offered. The prizes are not transferable. Prizes are subject to availability and we reserve the right to substitute any prize with another of equivalent value without giving notice.

• The winner will be chosen at random by software, from all entries received and announced on 21/10/24

• The winner will be notified within 28 days of the closing date. If the winner cannot be contacted or do not claim the prize within 14 days of notification, we reserve the right to withdraw the prize from the winner and pick a replacement winner.

• All prizes will be dispatched within within 28 days of the closing date.

• The promoter’s decision in respect of all matters to do with the competition will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.

• By entering this competition, an entrant is indicating his/her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions.

• The competition and these terms and conditions will be governed by English law and any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England.

• The winners’ names will be available 28 days after closing date by emailing the following address: support@booksetc.co.uk

• Entry into the competition will be deemed as acceptance of these terms and conditions.

• This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. You are providing your information to BOOKS etc. Ltd and not to any other party.



CASIO MENS WATCH STAINLESS STEEL BLACK BRACELET WITH BLUE DIAL EFR539BK GENUINE

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Personalised Coin Wallet School Coin Purse Bag Mini Money Saving Bag Kids Wallet

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Men Winter Fleece Lined Thick Thermal Trousers Athletic Joggers Loose Warm Pants

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For Apple Watch iWatch 9 SE 8 7 6 5 4 3 Ultra 2 Band 42/44/45mm Ocean Strap 49mm

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For Apple Watch iWatch 9 SE 8 7 6 5 4 3 Ultra 2 Band 42/44/45mm Ocean Strap 49mm

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Black Country Noir – Salt

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by Kerry Hadley-Pryce

A couple of years ago, a good friend of mine – another writer –  came to visit from Manchester. She’d been to Birmingham before, and thought she’d therefore ‘been to the Black Country’, but by the time she left for home, she knew for certain that the two places are not the same. It all started when we decided to go for a drink, and, walking down the road, someone called over to us. What they said was, ‘How am ya, m’wenches?’ My friend, only making out the word ‘wenches’ visibly fizzled with offence. ‘Do you know them?’ she asked. ‘No,’ I said. There was a moment of slight discomfort. I had to explain that here in the Black Country, ‘wenches’ is a term of endearment, and strangers will ask after your well-being, often very loudly. What did she learn during her stay? That the Black Country is unsettling, weird, a bit dark round the edges. 

 Of course, I knew this all along. I am, after all, a Black Country wench, born and bred. I know that It’s a place of contradictions: it has its own set of dialects, its own specific culture. You can’t define it geographically, it’s more about the landscape, really. It’s neither entirely urban or rural, in fact, it’s considered borderless. Working farms sit next to housing estates, canals are plentiful and highly significant, historically and culturally. On patches of land near industrial estates and high-rise blocks, you’ll find horses. They seem owner-less, and we used to ride them about the place when I was a kid. But it’s a place that breeds creativity: Elihu Burritt called it ‘Black by day and red by night’ in 1862; Queen Victoria thought the place so revolting, she couldn’t bear to look as she passed through, and in the early 1900s, Edwin Butler Bayliss’ paintings conveyed the smoke and grime of the place. More recently, photographers like the late Phil Loach, and Richard Billingham have created projects of their life in the region. Laura Pannack’s photography (2019) focusing on ‘The Cracker’, a scrubland in Tipton described as ‘a kind of youth club without walls, or rules’ is a fascinating documentary style project that aptly sums up the essence of the Black Country.

So let’s talk about the ‘essence’ of Black Country: poets Liz Berry, Billy Spakemon and R. M. Francis focus on their love of the place. And novelists, from Francis Brett Young in early 1900s, to Anthony Cartwright now, have cultivated a real ‘sensation of place’ in their writing. But the late Joel Lane’s novel From Blue to Black (2000) made me realise the impact of drawing out the weirdness, the eeriness – the vital sense of contradiction of the Black Country – in writing. This, and my own lived experience of the place, and of the fictive possibilities it offers continues to inspire and challenge me as a writer. I say ‘challenge’ because what is now referred to as ‘Black Country noir’ is an unusual mix of crime, thriller, Gothic, dark, weird fiction. It’s a genre that reflects the complexity and contradictory nature of the place itself, the essence of it. And look, let me be clear, writing it is pure joy – the process of writing it, I mean – for me. I’ve written four Black Country noir novels now, and Lie of the Land is the latest one. There’s a sense of the gothic about it, some elements of crime and thriller. It’s weird, (unsurprisingly) dark round the edges with several moments of slight discomfort. Maybe, if you read it, you’ll find it unsettling. Good. Welcome to the Black Country.


Kerry Hadley-Pryce lives and writes in the Black Country, UK. She has a PhD in creative writing and teaches creative and professional writing at the University of Wolverhampton. She co-edited Writing Under Fire: Poetry and Prose from Ukraine & the Black Country, and has short stories published in Best British Short Stories 2023, Takahe Magazine, Fictive Dream and The Incubator. She has had three novels published by Salt Publishing: The Black Country, Gamble, and God’s Country. Lie of the Land is her fourth novel.

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